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Our Mission
To create a more humane and democratic society by responding to the needs and problems of disenfranchised people through leadership development and educational programs based on Popular Education methodology. Specifically our goal is to organize and educate immigrants concerned with solving problems in their own communities.

The Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA) is a nonprofit community based organization whose purpose is to promote self-determination in the Latino community in Southern California politically, culturally, and economically using popular education methodology. We promote the development of collective solutions to community problems.

The Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA) is extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Elizabeth “Betsy” Mazursky. Our staff and worker members express our sincerest condolences to Betsy’s family and loved ones. Betsy was more than a donor to IDEPSCA. Our worker members from our Hollywood Day Labor Center knew her as a part of their community, not just someone who would volunteer her time teaching ESL classes.

As we wrap up 2016, we like many organizations who count low-wage immigrant workers and their families as their base, are planning for the unexpected.

In the last six months, we have worked with almost 500 day laborers and domestic workers, connecting them with jobs, providing ESL classes, fighting wage theft, and providing critical referrals to health and legal services.

In the last year, we fiercely advocated for maintaining the day labor centers funded by the City of L.A. The centers, more than mere hiring halls, also provide space for community leadership development.

Our worker members live and work in Los Angeles, the wage theft capital. Knowing that fact is not enough to fight back and try to prevent future incidents of wage theft from happening. With workers losing over 26 million dollars a week in Los Angeles, it is a problem too big to ignore and be proactive about changing.